| |
| Escalante River Trailhead, UT | |
|
| | Escalante River Trailhead, UT | | | |
|
|
Escalante River Trailhead, UT
| | |
| |
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | We(a virgin backpacker and myself)hiked past the famed Natural Bridge and archway in Escalante Utah. My original mapped route was to enter the Escalante River via the Cemetery on the east end of the Town of. I GPSd' a 7 mile route that followed the River and a base camp about 7 miles in. After speaking to a few locals I was encouraged to enter the river area from the Escalante River Trail head on the far east end of the River. I was told that this might be more palatable for a first timer. The trip was great but far under exceeded my expectations. I should have stuck to my original plan which was confirmed by the Backpackers we encountered. Take note. If you are going to do this trip enter from the cemetery.
We pulled into town Thursday Oct 6th.My plan was to tent camp at the Escalante Outfitters. 18 bucks for a site, hot showers and some good ole conversation was thwarted by the expectation of mid 30 degree weather that night. I caved to the request and we ended up renting a cabin up the street at Canyons RV Park for a warm bed before our hike in. Clean and spacious I would recommend this place. With our early arrival we decided to do a quick hike to Zebra Slot which is a short 2.5 mile hike in from the trail head. The hike was pretty. A different kind of desert hike (if you live in AZ you can relate). With just about .5 mile to go, we ran into some hikers on their way out. They said that Zebra was totally full of water secondary to recent rain and you couldn't get in at all. I should have changed courses and went to the Tunnel Slot which had water but was wadeable. We decided to continue on to Zebra. A few minutes later we perched ourselves on a mountain of stone for a break. I wanted to explore but my partner was beginning to tire and wanted to return. I caved to her request and we turned around and hiked back to the truck. There is no water on this hike. I imagine that this hike is brutal in hot weather. The weather for the day was low 80's and a beautiful sunny day. The trail was very recognizable. No chance of losing yourself in these mesa's. I did find that the washes were an easy flat workaround.
When we returned to town we stopped at a local outdoor store Utah Canyons. There we picked up some new digs that were on sale. The locals were getting ready for their winter hours so much of the wares were on sale. Yay!!! I bought a map and we ran thru my GPS route. It was then I was encouraged to take another route. I agreed that it would be an easier approach to my perceived base camp. It was getting close to dinner so we headed over to Circle D Eatery. Their menu was pretty expanse and everyone I spoke to raved about the food. The burger I had was pretty tasty.
We were encouraged to go to the Kiva Coffee House about 14 miles outside of town. There we enjoyed a bagel breakfast and the last bit of wi-fi. (local wifi is a must. Service in this area is very spotty) I turned on route scout and airplane mode before we drove the last mile to the Escalante River Trail trail head. Registered for an overnight permit and we were off to hike past the Natural arch and make camp somewhere around the sand creek confluence. Much of the hike in was on well tread trail. Crossed the river a few times. Ankle to calf high water. We hiked past the natural bridge and the arch. The scenery was stunning. There has been a lot of rain recently so there were times that the trail evaporated. The river was an easy gauge to re-finding your route. We hiked to the Sand Creek confluence and from there it became a crap shoot. On our way out we passed a group and they said it was an easy find and ample campsites. Both of which I found not to be total truth. I wanted to throw down the packs and find the route but my partner had other ideas. She whined a bit and I caved again. We just decided to find a suitable campsite despite my goading to push on. We hiked a few circles and found no real suitable sites. I encountered a lone hiker and he said to keep following the river and we would run into a few sites. My co-hiker had no intention of continuing on. My frustration with her was building. I simply started backtracking till we got to the arch and a nice sandy flat spot next to the river. This would be home for the night. The day temps were in the 80's and night weather warmed up with temps 40-50 this night. I was plenty warm in just my bag and shells. The next morning I caved again when my virgin backpacker decided that she wanted to head back to town. The few mile hike out left me contemplating my next move. Here I am in Gods country and I have seen more of the town of Escalante Utah than I cared too. I wanted to be on the River. My hiking partner was clearly struggling so I caved again. So in 3 days I day hiked and back packed over night. Not my kind of trip.
What I learned was perhaps I should have soloed this trip and took a virgin on a local overnighter. What I can tell you is that the Escalante River approach from the Cemetery is the route to take. we passed a duo who hike end to end in the day and their recommendation was I should have stuck to my first route. They related that the hike was beautiful and ample camping. One thing we did encounter in the water was "quick sand" perhaps not the most accurate name but their is a lot of silt in the water so when you step on a "silt only" area you sink quickly. After a while you get to know what your looking at before you step. If you do step in this silt your shoe gets sucked in but easily removed with a small amount of effort.
Despite my mishaps I would highly recommend this trip. I will be returning to this area for sure. |
|
Autumn Foliage Observation Light
The "change" was clearly beginning to happen |
|
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
